Limelight
by Dancingchocolatesmudge
Summary: Used to be Reinstated Hunger Games. The Hunger Games are back... Liliana's life is hard, but who expected it would be easy? She's bullied about never being as good as her parents were- Of course, that would be easier if her parents weren't the famous Mellarks... Will she be able to change their minds when the Games come along? The next-gen of the Hunger Games!
1. Postwar

**HI again!**

**So, yes, aside from my next-gen HP fanfic, I have decided on a HUNGER GAMES one! Please don't flame me, and PLEASE enjoy **

Post-war

Contrary to popular belief, post-war for Panem wasn't exactly hectic. Once it was clear that the rebels had won, and that all districts but the Capitol wholly agreed, the only things the leaders of Panem could do was resign, and attempt to keep their dignity intact.

So for two years the country lived peacefully, people returning to their jobs (all but the Peace keepers, who were forced to take up jobs in their own district). There were little uprisings, and during those two years, all people did was re-organise the country.

It was peaceful, to return to your daily lives, and not have to worry about your child possibly leaving to die horribly in the Hunger Games, or worry about having enough food to feed your family (as for the first few months, the leaders re-organised the feeding system, so all districts got the same amount of goods).

At least, for the residents it was.

For the leaders it was certainly hectic. Well, if you could call them leaders.

The state of Panem was divided between all districts, still, but they had a chance to travel to others. And for every district, there was a representative for their 'government', along with all the rebel leaders.

The group consisted of several people. There was a pregnant Annie, a Peeta still attempting to fight off the hijack attempting to take him over, a depressed Katniss, an increasingly drunk Haymitch, Johanna, Enobaria, and several others. So you can probably see how it came to be like that.

The only person who could possibly be of any help was Plutarch, and he spent most of his time keeping the representing leader from the Capitol, Grizaldo Vexan, in line. Grizaldo used to be a game-maker with Plutarch, so it made sense for him to be in the so-called 'government', but he was drunk enough to rival Haymitch.

So drunk, in fact that he continuously stated of how the Hunger Games, heartless as it was, was actually helpful. About how it kept people in line. And though the rest of the representatives waved it off as wine speaking, a few years later they realised he had been right.

Because what came to pass almost exactly mirrored what Plutarch Heavensbee had stated at the end of the war. For the years of blissful acceptance had passed, and now people began to get bored with their jobs. They began to neglect their work, and their negligence lead to the possible fall of Panem.

And so the leaders had no choice; they knew that fear always helped run a country, as much as they had ignored the fact. They decided to reinstate the old laws, but with new rules.

Instead of being until one was left dead, they simply had to survive 3 weeks in the arena. The players motives was simply their own choice. Alongside that, they decided that the children could be trained in their district by older children, or old winners of the previous Games, from the age of 9.

And still they would have the Quarter Quell, for everything needed tradition, right?

So the Game makers were again hired, and with these new laws, thus started the Hunger Games.

**Oooh, cliffy… sort of. **

**So, if there is a character you want to create for me, go ahead! Create one! You never know, I might make a hunger games in this story…..**

**Oh, no point being vague. You already know I will **

**SO PLEASE create a character. If I already have someone from that gender/district in my made-up mind, I will still try to incorporate them some way **

**Wow, a lot of smileys today.**

**Love,**

**Thalia Greenlaw**


	2. Chapter One: Hunting

**Chapter two…. Yay!**

**SO first, I will just say thanks to my three (I know, but I **_**have **_**only just started.) reviewers, Cato4ever, Niss12 and Ceasar-Flickerman. **

**(And Althea? You can't be good at everything )**

**And I honestly hope more people will review…**

**(and yes, I named her Liliana. You know why? So her nickname can be Lily, therefore acknowledge both Rue and Prim)**

**Also, sorry if this is a little long-winded. I thought it needed some background.**

_Liliana Everdeen-Mellark ran through the woods with her weapons. Behind her chased a boy with a sword. His face was gory, covered in blood, and his hair matted. She winced at his looks, and yet after so many weeks, she knew she looked no different._

_She kept running until her legs could run no more- literally. She was standing in front of a cliff. She turned and began to back up, her breath heaving in her chest as the boy advanced on her, grinning menacingly and holding his sword up in a ready stance._

_Lily kept backing up on the crumbling ground, but just as he was about to swipe her with it, her foot stepped backwards to meet only air. She gave a stricken look, her arms waving frantically in an attempt for balance, and then she was falling…._

_Falling…_

_Falling…_

_Bang._

Lily's entire body jolted skywards, her eyes flying open in a soundless scream. She was in cold sweat, but still bleary from her dream. She certainly wasn't sure whether the bang was from the arena cannon in her dream, or a knock on the door.

She blinked her bleary eyes in an attempt to abolish the sleep addling her brain.

Maybe it was the knock on her door. Though it was still shut as ever, a smiling lone figure stood in front of her door. Though it was dark, she could somehow make out the coco coloured skin and curly dark hair. As happy as the girl seemed, Lily couldn't stray her eyes away from the spear protruding out of the middle of her chest.

The little girl beckoned with her small finger, and let it fall back to her side.

She knew this girl, but not physically; she knew her from old movies, gory things that was Panem's history. Lily pushed the stifling blankets off of her body and stood, body still weak from shock, and padded slowly, curiously towards her door.

Rue beckoned once more with her tiny pinky, and then proceeded to fade. Lily cried out and reached out her hand as to grab her clothes. She didn't grab the girl, however. What she grabbed was the bunch of clothes and her arrows hanging off of her door handle.

Slowly she registered that what she thought she had seen wasn't real, and just a product of her tired mind, and she scowled. She knew that the 'apparition' linked with both her dream, and what would happen today.

She marched to her curtains and tore them apart roughly, squinting through the light as to see what was happening outside, silently hoping she had been wrong. What she saw were millions of sad District 12 people wearing the best they only reserved for today.

Her heart sank as she realised she was right.

It was reaping day.

The sun hadn't fully risen yet, and so far it was only the eldest people milling around the area, so Liliana thought it safe to go hunting.

You could see evidence of her talents hanging in her room; the leopard-skin rug (she still didn't understand how a _leopard _of all creatures, had wandered into the woods), her bow and arrows hanging on her door, her merit certificate for both teaching kids how to paint and helping teach the young ones survival skills in whim of the Games, and various paintings she had made in times of boredom.

She was going hunting, however, because it was the second most relaxing thing to do (first being painting, but she had broken her last paint-brush). Lily quickly changed, ignoring the bath (she would have one later) and pulling on her best hunting boots. She swiftly scrawled a note to her parents and, after grabbing her weapons, slinked away towards the woods.

A year after the war had ended, people had decided it best to put the electric fences back up. It wasn't because of poaching, no: it was because of the animals themselves. Both mutts and normal animals had grown restless, and decided that, scratch the rules, they would go attack the humans, the people who had life so much better than themselves.

After about a week of children going missing, the best fighters of twelve marched into the woods and replaced the fence. The only problem with what they did was that the used the _old _electric fence.

It wasn't too hard for Lily to crawl through the hidden hole in the fence, and once she had, she immediately searched for animal tracks: berries and roots would be there all day, but animals? You had to find them before they were aware.

First she checked her traps and snares for any animals, so they wouldn't rot, then once she had collected her catches, she began to search the forest quietly for animals.

After successfully downing a squirrel (through the eye), she leapt out of her tree to retrieve her catch. Upon reaching where it lay, however, she found it gone.

Searching with her eyes, she saw an overlarge shoe peeking around a tree. She swiftly shot an arrow directly beside the shoe, and smirked to hear a male cry of fear. Her smirk soon left her as the rest of his body appeared.

His name was Robin Vendavalla. He was one of the many who had teased her as a child, and one of the many who had continued to.

When the two of them had been young, his father had fallen ill from a deathly disease. Nobody had known what it was, so when they had sent for Liliana's grandmother to assess what had happened, it was too late.

Though Mrs Everdeen, and Liliana's own brother Finnick, had tried their best, he died a week later. Secretly, Lily thought this was the reason that Robin resented her: both the fact that her family couldn't save his, and that she had a living, healthy father.

Ever since that day Liliana had hunted for the Vendavalla's. It wasn't because she felt sorry for them; her family happened to be friends with them. She had always believed that Jennifer Cartwright and her daughter Briony hadn't deserved what they had gotten: Robin? Not so much.

After scowling at each other for a few minutes, Robin turned on his heel and swiftly ran away, taking her prize with him. As she watched him run, she mused about his hair: How had the colour come to such a red? And she felt a little pity. If he were to get put in the Games, it would be impossible to camouflage it.

Lily, with her dark hair in a plait and her tall, willowy body, only had one feature that would let her down: her eyes, which were a spectacular shade of electric blue.

Lily shook her head and swiftly collected her days catch, and began to head home.

First, however, she would make a little detour while Robin was still hunting…..

**Woohoo! Another chapter up!**

**So again, sorry for it being so long-winded, but if you are reading the end of the chapter, thanks for bearing with me!**

**So, yes, I would appreciate comments…. Virtual cookie for those who do!  
Thanks,**

**ChocolateFudgeSmudge**


	3. Chapter Two: Reaping

**Hey all! You guys have no idea how happy I am….. Third chapter, and already people are alerting me! **

**If there are any of you who like next-gen Harry Potter, check out my in-progress story **_**Escaping the Shadows, **_**and if there are any who enjoy modern Hunger Games, try Cato4ever or Ceaser-Flickerman**

**So, now comes the fateful reaping… I wonder what'll happen? Just read on….**

By the time Liliana reached the edge of the forest, the sun had risen in the cloudless sky, and the mockinjays were singing. She whistled a four-note tune, one she had often heard her mother sing, and smiled to hear the mockingjays repeat it in their high, chirping voices.

_How could a day so beautiful, _thought Lily, _be the day when we send two of our own to possible death? If the day were to follow mood, the sky would be drizzly with sleet. _She sighed and hefted her game bag onto her shoulder as she searched for the hole in the fence. Upon finding it, she listened for the humming of electricity, and crawled through.

Being careful to hide her game bag from the Peacekeepers, she slipped behind houses, taking the back ways until she reached a small, slightly run-down cottage, with two people inside who were waiting for her…

Post-war, people decided that it was best if districts 12 and 13 were not, well….. wastelands. So, with the best builders and growers, they rebuilt the two to their former, er, 'luxuries', which of course, wasn't much. However, they found it nice to actually _have _houses, and with that, along with the stashed money the former Capitol was hiding, they managed to repopulate until both districts were roughly the size they used to be.

So that is one reason why districts 13, and the Capitol, are included in the Hunger Games.

Lily pushed the door open a crack and pushed her game bag through, and then her head. She had been trying to make no noise, but could she help it if she fell into a tumbling heap onto the floor? Her head banged into the edge of the table, and she let out a little _oof._

Obviously, the people living in the house didn't mind, because Liliana heard a half-dressed 12 year old screech before her face was blocked with a bunch of hair. "Liliana! What are you doing here? It's reaping day! You should be at home, getting changed!" Bryony cried, all in one breath, and then held Liliana's shoulders away from her own and inspected her. "You aren't even properly washed!" she cried, dismayed.

Carefully, Lily untangled herself from the heap on the floor and grinned down at the slight twelve-year-old. "That's because I was out hunting, Bee! And besides, who needs to change? Nobody is going to look as pretty as you if they tried!" At this, Bryony blushed.

Liliana turned to Bryony's mother, a shapeless woman who always wore her smile for the world to see, and began to rummage through her game bag. "Mrs Vendavalla, I have some things for you as well, I have rabbits, squirrels-""No, Lily, you keep them. You can't be caught with these, and I expect my Robin is out hunting too. No, hide them at your house. It's reaping day." At those words, Bryony whimpered. Lily turned to face her and began to stroke her auburn her. "Don't you worry, Bee, it's only your first reaping. Me, it's my fifth. If anyone were to get chosen, it would be me." Liliana turned to her bag and pulled out a bag of fresh strawberries. "Here, have these." She passed them to Bryony, whose pale skin lit up at the sight of fruit. "Now run of, little bee, go on!"

Watching Bryony run off to her room, Lily pulled herself to her full height, standing next to Jennifer, who smiled down at her. "Thank you for coming, Lily. Bryony has been so afraid, and all her brother does is scare her." Lily opened her mouth to say something when the bell struck three, signifying three hours till the Reaping. With a grimace, Liliana said a quick 'goodbye' before hefting her game bag and hurrying home.

Liliana had never liked the Reapings. For one, her parents were always away to coach, so she and her brother had been made to stay at the Vendavalla's, which is why 16-year-old Liliana is friends with a twelve-year-old. And though she isn't friends with Robin, he became friends with Finnick, another twelve-year-old, and Lily's brother.

When Liliana taught Bryony how to prepare for the Games, she had taken her brother. And with her brother came Robin.

So, the only problem with Liliana feeling that Bryony is like her sister is that Robin feels the same way about her brother.

And they hate each other for that.

When Liliana reached the Victor's Village, it wasn't too hard to tell which house was being used. For one, regarding the new Hunger Games law, quite a few twelves had survived. So many, in fact, that they had to build even more houses to fit the people. But those houses were new, and the Everdeen-Mellark household was old, and with only two houses in the Victors Village that were old (the other being Haymitch's) all Lily had to do was head to the cleaner of the two.

By the time Liliana was dressed, the rest of her family was in the kitchen, fussing about their clothes. Slowly Liliana made her way over to her mother, who was dressed up as well. That was the difference with some families: Liliana's parents had to dress for the occasion too.

Katniss turned and smiled at Lilliana; that was another difference. Most mothers would be mad at their children for spending all day hunting. Lily's knew better. Wordlessly, Katniss tugged at Liliana's clothes, then turned to a little golden box that lay untouched and slightly rusted with age on their mantle. Out of it she pulled a golden locket, and a pin.

A mockingjay pin.

Whilst Peeta hung the chain around Finnick's neck, Katniss fastened the pin on Lily's dress collar, then smoothed her braided hair down and whispered. "For good luck".

Lily looked around for her brother, and saw he was sitting in the twelve years section, along with Bryony. Good thing the two were friends, compared with who was standing next to her. She tried to wave at them, but on the stage, the woman had already started speaking.

"Hello, _lovely _District 12! Today is the day of the Reaping! Who is excited?" The woman, Lena Silver, who wore an elaborate dress and a large periwinkle wig, turned to the crowd as if expecting a round of applause. Obviously disappointed when none came, she continued. "Before we continue, I call up the mayor to read the list of original Games winners, and Reinstated Games survivors."

The mayor stood and began to read the list. Of the original Games there were exactly four, only three living, and at their names her parents waved at the crowd. Haymitch didn't wave, so much as snore. It was obvious he had been drinking again.

When the mayor had finished, Lena bounced back onto the stage and began to speak once more. "Well, what an exciting day! Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be _ever _in your favour!" She sidled over to the pink bowl and stuck her hand in. "Ladies first!"

After swivelling her hand around the bowl, she finally found the sheet she was looking for.

"And the girl District twelve tribute is….."

For a moment, my heart stopped. I knew there was something wrong.

"Bryony Vendavalla!"

**Ooh, Cliffy! So, I'll get the next chapter up as fast as possible, but I honestly hope you guys are enjoying it as much as me!**

**SO, for anyone who wants to create a character and possibly have it included….**

**NAME:**

**GENDER:**

**DISTRICT:**

**HG OR NO:**

**FAMILY:**

**LOOKS:**

**PERSONALITY:**

**LIKES:**

**DISLIKES:**

**WHY DO YOU WANT TO BE IN THIS STORY?**

**Till next time,**

**Smudgey **


	4. Chapter Three: Reaping Continued

**Hi guys….. Want to know a secret?**

**Come closer…..closer….. I like reviews!**

**For the people who want a character in this, I would appreciate if you could PM or review me this form filled out.**

**NAME:**

**GENDER:**

**DISTRICT:**

**HG OR NO:**

**FAMILY:**

**LOOKS:**

**PERSONALITY:**

**LIKES:**

**DISLIKES:**

**WHY DO YOU WANT TO BE IN THIS STORY?**

**Continuing cliffy… NOW!**

_**Once you've reached the bottom, the only place left to go is up.~ Thaddeus Thatch **_

Liliana heard a strangled gasp from Robin beside her. Her mind seemed to be slowing down, working at a snail's pace, and only one thing from her brain made its way to her mouth.

"I VOLUNTEER!" She shrieked, stepping forward. Little Bryony froze in her tracks, and turned to see who it was volunteering for her place of possible death. Her little eyes widened when she saw who it was, and she screamed "NO!"

Lily didn't listen. She strode forward and shouted "I Volunteer. I volunteer for the female tribute."

Lena Silver began to look flustered; obviously random outbursts weren't covered in her handbook. "Isn't there a procedure for this? I believe that I am supposed to ask first…." She trailed off, looking uncertainly at the winners seats. It was my mother who answered.

"There is, but it doesn't matter now. The volunteer has made her decision." She turned sad eyes onto Lily's face, but she understood that she knew what she was doing.

Liliana, however, didn't. She was aware of a shell-shocked Bryony dazedly walking to her brother Robin, who cast Lily a look of thanks. She was aware of Lena asking her name, and her answering. She was aware of Lena calling out that she was about to choose the boy tribute. Everything else was a daze.

If there was anything to pull her out of that daze, it was what came next.

"Finnick Everdeen-Mellark."

Lily lurched forward, and somewhere, in the back of her brain, came a thought that she should remain composed. That thought was immediately chased away when she saw the fear in her brother's eyes. How could it be possible for _two _twelve-year-olds to be reaped?

Moreover, how could one be her _brother, _who couldn't even hurt a fly?

When she was fifteen, Liliana and Robin were made leaders of one of the young Games groups. Basically, District Twelve had a system where nine year olds and over could be taught about the Games, and how to survive, if their parents allowed it, which most did.

The two of them specialised in shooting, swordsmanship, traps, snares, and all things that can be done in forests. They were one of many of these groups, and on the current day they had been granted permission to enter the woods.

Their training group consisted of Bryony, Finnick, a young girl called Merope Greenlaw, a young boy named Martin, and a girl called Lisandre. Most of the time they were trying to stop Martin from mauling attempts, and trying to get Finnick to shoot or stab something, _anything._

They had just reached a clearing when they heard howling and yapping, and of course, the first thing the leaders had done was follow silently, with the five eleven-year-olds in hot pursuit.

They raced through the dark thickets of trees, some of the young children tripping over twigs and scratching themselves on trees. Once they reached the culprits of the noise, they stared at what they had found.

What they had found was a dead wolf, her blood pooling around the ground. Surrounding her was a pack of wolves closing in on a yipping noise. One wolf turned its head and growled, causing young Lisandre to scream.

Lisandre was what people called a Capitol child. She was called this because both her parents had once lived in the Capitol, and had moved to twelve because of their friendship with Katniss. I was obvious to see, as her corkscrew curls almost perfectly mirrored her father Flavius'. She quite enjoyed looks, a lot more than her older sister Linden, who was one of Liliana's first friends, and had become so because of the fact that Lily had stood up for her when they bullied her for being Capitol spawn.

Liliana and Robin promptly shot the wolves. They had been threatening the children, even if they weren't brilliant eating. Upon moving the bodies, they found the source of the yipping. It was a small wolf pup, obviously the runt of the litter, and half its side was covered in blood.

"This must be the pup of the dead wolf." said Merope, her large, celery coloured eyes widening. Liliana agreed with her. "What shall we do with it?" "Let's kill it!" shouted Martin. Despite his angelic looks, Martin enjoyed fighting, and was rather good with a sword.

"Oh, please, no!" cried Bryony. She then turned to look at Finnick, who was already opening his medical bag he had insisted on bringing with him. "Is there anything we can do?" He smiled at her, then at all of them.

"Of course."

It took him hours to fix the pup, and he brought it home and cared for it for weeks. Because of its grey fur, they named her Ash, and she became a regular hunting companion of Liliana. All this, just because of the compassion of an eleven-year-old?

She was sure she wouldn't cope if they were thrown into the Games together, and he was killed. What if no-one volunteered? They should know him; he was the one who delivered strawberries to them. She wished she could volunteer, but she couldn't, because-

"I volunteer."

This time the voice was not hers. She searched frantically with her eyes until she located the person, but her heart sank when she saw his face. _How am I going to survive against him? _

It was Robin.

He strode forward, flanked by Peacekeepers, and he seemed so _calm. _How could he be calm?

And Lena, curse her, was somehow still bubbly as ever, as she raised their arms in the air and shouted out to the crowd, her metallic dress shining with sunlight, almost blinding.

Lena quickly wrapped up the ceremony, and as the two of them left the Peace building, she saw the fear in his eyes, and the way his hands shook. Lily turned her head slightly, her neck straining, to look at her parents following her, giving reassuring looks. She turned her eyes to the crowd, to the parents hugging their children happily, and a tear leaked out of her eye. She would possibly never go through that experience again.

Up she walked, through the beat-up marble doors of the Peace building, until she reached a room with plush chairs. Only vaguely did she realise her parents and brother were in there with her. A tall Peacekeeper pulled an oak door shut. "You got three minutes."

Immediately, her father held her hand and looked at her mother, who wrapped her arms around Liliana. Her brother, still in obvious shock, did nothing. "Well." Her father intoned after a moment. "What a turn of events." The rest of them nodded. It was obvious they had nothing to say; they had all been in this situation before, except for Finnick, and her parents would be training her for the Games, so it wasn't like she wouldn't see them again.

All they did was help her out of her shock, until the clomping footsteps of Peacekeepers began to make their way down the halls. This was when Finnick snapped out of his reverie. He turned his large grey Seam eyes on Lily's electric blue ones, and gripped her shoulders hard.

"Lily, please. Promise me you'll get out." Looking at him, she couldn't help being reminded of his eleven year old self, cringing at the dead wolves. "Please."

She looked up into his pleading eyes, and nodded. He relaxed slightly, and let go. Slowly, he submitted to the Peacekeepers, and only looked back at Liliana once, sorrow in his eyes.

Whilst Lily fingered her Mockingjay pin, she remembered.

Finnick and Bryony would be with Jennifer together, mourning for their siblings alone.

**And, the end of ANOTHER chapter! Wow!**

**So yes, she does get visited by Bryony, but I had a mental breakdown when I tried to write that bit, so I'll try to intone it in the next chapter.**

**I want to tell you guys now, there will be a few flashbacks. Also, I can't help being reminded of Annabeth Chase every time I think of Finnick!**

**So, please enter some characters, and I'll be sure to include them in either the Games or some flashbacks.**

**From,**

**A Girl Who Really Likes PM's and Reviews**


	5. Chapter Four: Linden a memory and AN

**Hi guys… Just realised I hadn't put in a Disclaimer for ages!**

**Disclaimer: I solemnly swear that this is not my complete idea, and is mostly based off Suzanne Colinns' writing, so remember, ONLY PARTS OF THIS STORY IS MINE! Amen. **

**Also, yes, I AM sorry, but I was away for a week skiing at Thredbo! Don't hate me for not updating. And, this will only be around a half chapter, because I need to clear up things about the OC section of my Games.**

**So, on with the…er…memory-story-thingy!**

**PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS A MEMORY.**

Liliana was never really a very social type of girl. It wasn't that people didn't like her: as a matter of fact, she had been asked by a group of Seam kids to join their so-called 'group', which she had declined. She had declined not only because of the fact that they were bullies (which they had soon turned out to be, for when she declined, they immediately spread nasty rumours about her), but, unlike other children, Liliana had realised there was only one reason as to why they asked her to be friends.

Liliana, at an early age, had realised that others only wanted her around because of her parent's fame.

So she had turned out to be quite the quiet achiever. Ever since she remembered, most of her activities had been to sit outside her father's bakery and draw on the ground with chalk, or practise her archery skills with her mother in the forest. She had been teased by others about not being loud, and not living up to her parent's standards. Sometimes these insults pushed her to the edge and made her do things that she never forgave herself for, but mostly she was able to grit her teeth and move on.

Still, she was quite happy at their surprise when she proved higher than satisfactory in public speaking.

So it was to no-one's shock when twelve-year-old Liliana sat alone on a table in the raucous schoolyard of District 12's local educational centre.

If she was to make a comment on the teaching of the school, Liliana would say it hadn't really changed. Even if the students didn't realise it, when the Capitol got its grip back around Panem, they subtly rearranged the schooling systems back to teaching mostly about the Hunger Games, the Districts and, most of all, both Revolutions.

However, to Liliana, today wasn't just any ordinary, sit-in-the-dreary-room-and-listen-to-what-you-have-already-learnt day. Today, there was a new student.

For a twelve-year-old, the girl was quite petite, with a small, freckled face and pale skin, which was quite fitting considering her name (Linden, named after the light soft wood of a tree), and she had a small sister around the age of Finnick. However, these weren't the qualities that made her stand out.

What made her stand out were the golden, slightly shimmering corkscrew curls that bounced about her head, and her clothing that was as extravagant as her father Flavius. It was clear that she was a Capitol girl, and had moved to 12 recently. That fact made Liliana wonder. Why twelve?

She knew that her parents had been close to Linden's father, but would he really move his entire family here because of that?

So, on the day the Downer's arrived, at lunch, Liliana was perched on the cold iron bench of the playground, chewing mournfully at her sandwich. Of course, she wasn't upset: after all, today had good news. The bully group had decided to lay off her for one day, and that was a relief. Not for Liliana, though. For the bullies. Yesterday, Robin had pushed her to breaking point in front of the gang, and she had to spend hours in detention for what she did.

Despite her teacher's claims, Liliana felt that he had deserved a broken nose. Still, if there was an upside, there had to be a downside. What was happening right in front of her was just that.

Small Linden had just slipped out of the Principal's office, and looked around cautiously, no doubt making sure that no one was there to jump her. Slowly, carefully, the girl took a step forward. Liliana couldn't help admiring the girl's courage; what happened next would have made anyone else run in fear.

A gang of tall, sniggering boys sidled their way through the playground, flanked by several admiring girls. Their leader, Benjamin Ivory, flung out a hand and narrowed his shark eyes at the girl. He then turned towards his followers and gave a smirk, and continued forward, the other four boys following in his wake.

"Well, well," he sniggered, "if it isn't a little Capitol child. Why are you so far away from home, huh?" "That's nothing you should know." Linden's voice came out wavering, though she fought to keep it defiant. Liliana couldn't help feeling a pang of sympathy. Benjamin, however, sniggered and took a step forward. "Don't cross me." As he growled this, he stepped forward and pushed her backwards. She flailed and landed on the hard ground, turning pink and looking helplessly around to see if anyone would help her.

Lily couldn't help it; the poor girl looked like she was going to cry. Liliana stood up. "Leave her alone." She said firmly. The gang's raucous laughter stopped, and they looked at her in mock shock. Funnily enough, it was Robin who spoke up. "Honestly, Mellark, if you stopped standing up for misfits, you could be popular." Lily snarled and said sarcastically, "Robin! How is your nose healing up?" It was his turn to snarl, and he instinctively touched his broken nose. "You didn't answer my question." Liliana stood glaring up at the group; though she was slight and tall, she still stood under a head of his height.

As an answer, Liliana walked forward and slipped her arm gingerly under Linden's, and slowly helped her up. Then she turned towards the bullies and said, "If being popular means bullying others, count me out. I don't want to act like the Capitol did in the old days. Now if you will excuse me, I'd best be going." With that, she half-dragged Linden away, her dark hair flowing in the wind. The last she saw was a sliver of approval in Robin's eyes, amongst the anger. That wasn't the thing that mattered, though.

The thing that mattered was that ever since that day, dark haired, blue eyed Liliana and slight, golden ringlet bound Linden had been best friends.

**Woo! That chapter's over! Sorry if it is only a filler, and if some doesn't make sense, PM or review a question I am now working on the next chapter, but it may take a few days. I decided to give you that filler, so hopefully you now have some insight to my characters.**

**SO, now for the A/N. If you have no interest in entering a character, read no further. Actually, read further, because these rules apply too if you want to suggest something for my story **

**Even though this **_**is **_**mostly just my story, it has a part of OC fan-created characters, and if you want to enter one, this is how it works.**

**Here is the form:**

NAME:

AGE:

GENDER:

DISTRICT:

HG OR NO:

FAMILY:

LOOKS:

PERSONALITY:

LIKES:

DISLIKES:

WHY DO YOU WANT TO BE IN THIS STORY?

**So when you enter one, there are a few rules as to when you will be mentioned. There won't be too many parts of your character, but I will put you in several times, either a death, crucial moment, training centre moment or reaping. However, I will only do that if you review or PM me, and put in your preferred way. So here is the deal.**

**AT THE BEGINNING OF PM's OR REVIEWS, if you have a character, put his/her name at the top.**

**ONE equals one of my characters running into them somehow (games, training, watching reaping on tv, etc.) nothing too much.**

**FIVE equals a short moment in their POV, whether they are running in the Arena, or in training, or in the reapings. These will either be just a crucial moment, or give insight to the characters.**

**ANSWER THREE QUESTIONS RIGHT and I will automatically give you a chapter, whether it is about your character or mine, based on whatever you want.**

**Now that that is cleared up, here are my questions for today:**

**Who is the new President of Panem at the end of **_**Mockingjay**_**? (bonus; What district is he from?)**

**What is the name of the Ravenclaw ghost in Harry Potter? (preferably both names i.e. actual name and what the students call her.)**

**How many brothers do Peeta have?**

**And to Iris Willow's creator, is District 8 alright? And I will make her around 15-17 ,depends what mood I am in.**

**Au Revoir, **

**SMUDGEEEE**


	6. Chapter Five: The Train

**Disclaimer: DO NOT OWN!**

_Jennifer Cartwright grabbed Liliana's shoulders. "Lily, I don't care what you do in the Games, but all I am asking of you, other than staying alive, is to not hurt my son. If you see him injure, don't ignore him, help him. I know you to don't like each other, but please, do this for me." She said the words with fervour, a pleading look in her eyes, and after a moment's hesitation, she added, "for us." _

_Liliana looked down at small Bryony beside her. She couldn't deny the girl her brother; as much as they were like sisters, Robin _was _biologically related to her. She looked back up at Bryony's mother and nodded._

"_I will."_

Lily touched the cold gold of the mockingjay pin she wore on her shirt, bringing herself back to reality. For the moment, she lay on her designated bed on the train, thinking about her visit from the Vendavalla's only several hours ago.

Her room was spectacular, with a chandelier of crystals hanging from the ceiling, and an amazing shower that was obviously made from the technology only the Capitol owned. The whole train had been like that, with fancy food and decorations.

Almost immediately after boarding the train, Lena Silver had suggested the two tributes think about their strategies for a while. Liliana knew for sure that she had just been trying to get rid of them so she could talk to the victors, but she didn't mind. She had had every intention of leaving anyway.

Okay, time to admit it: Lily was scared. She was afraid of what might happen to her in the arena. Maybe she would die, or lose some limb like her father, or- _Don't wallow, Liliana, _she thought. _You're wallowing._ Liliana took a deep breath and steeled herself. She would get through this alive.

She swung her legs over the side of her bed; the Reapings should be on by now, and she had to see what she would face in the arena. Tiptoeing through the hallway to the room opposite the dining room, she heard whispering. She peeked through the hole between the doors of the dining room to see the victors discussing something fervently.

Among her parents and Lena, there were several other faces. Every year, along with original hunger games victors, three or four of the new Hunger Games victors were brought along to mentor. Haymitch, of course, was there. Lily was surprised to see the old man hadn't retired yet; he had to be in around his seventies, and he was still an old drunk.

There was also a young woman in her twenties, with white-blond hair (Melody Harper, who had survived when she was thirteen), a woman in her early thirties with short dark hair (Gretel Ivory, who was brilliant with knives) and a young man with ashy hair (John Neman, who won when he was eighteen).

Liliana decided to leave them to whatever they were talking about, and hurried to the television room. At that room, however, she stopped dead. Robin Vendavalla was perched on the edge of the couch, glaring blearily at the large television. Obviously he had had the same idea as her, and Lily was in no mood to start a fight. She decided she would leave, and as soon as possible. As she backed up, her foot hit the door and she was sent sprawling. Robin jumped as he realised he was not alone, but obviously he was in the same mood as Lily, as all he did was move over on the plush couch and pat the seat next to him, which she took gratefully.

But if she thought watching the Reapings would take her mind off things, she was wrong. Watching the first from the Capitol being chosen, Liliana felt sad. It was only a girl, maybe around the age of twelve, with blond hair that was purple at the bottom. As the people stated her name, (Violet Gruella) Caesar said, "Well, obviously the odds were not in _that _families favour!"

This struck her as odd. The Games had not been going long enough for original victors to have children, and the Capitol had never been part of the original Games. Then it hit her: The reason for those words linked to the reason she had no siblings to volunteer or her. She must have had a sibling who had been in a previous one, and _died. _She immediately felt sorry for the girl: How would you feel if you had had a sibling die in the Games, then been thrown into them yourself?

By the time they reached the District One female, a fourteen-year-old orphan named Avey Night with dark hair, freckles and bright green eyes, the whispering had elevated to shouting. The two of them tried to focus on the way the petite girl's back stiffened, and how she relaxed enough to waltz onto the stage with an air of practised confidence, but the whisper-shouting broke through that. Slyly, they glanced at each other, and stood up quietly. Lily and Robin sneaked to the doors of the dining hall and peeked in the cracks, and slowly the words reached their minds.

"-Katniss, we can't try your one, it has too many flaws and backfires from the times you used it, and they _hate _each other, and I thought that was obvious-"That rich voice _had _to be Melody Harper. "-Melody, suggesting that they pretend to hate each other won't work at all!" That overly persuasive voice was obviously Peeta. "I agree with him, but Liliana alone will already be getting votes for her braver, _and _the fact that she's _your _daughter!" Gretel.

The conversation continued, and it seemed obvious that they were talking about our Games tactics. Liliana was appalled at her parents: the_ 'your one' _Melody was talking about _had _to be the 'star-crossed lovers' tactic, which had never been used since her parents had. And they wanted her to pretend to be in love with someone she hated?

She involuntarily sucked in a breath of air and met Robin's shocked blue eyes. He nodded to her, and the two of them began to stealthily make their way back to the room where the Reapings still played. Well, stealthily until Robin half-tripped over a doorstop. When they heard a half-drunk Haymitch opening the dining room door, they ran like hell and flopped onto the couch in time to pretend to watch the girl from eight being reaped.

It was a girl with brown hair and olive skin, named Iris Willow. For a second, Liliana could pretend to be watching: She felt sorry for poor Iris, because on her way up the stage, three children below the age of ten ran up and latched themselves onto her, and it took an obvious older sister and someone who looked like Iris' twin to detach them from her and allow her to proceed up the stairs.

After what seemed like ages, the door clicked open to reveal her parents, looking slightly concerned. "Hey, Lily." Her father smiled down at her. "You two have been on this train for hours: I think you'd better get some food and sleep."

The next morning, on the way down to breakfast, Liliana blearily realised she had never even changed out of her blue Reaping dress. She felt sorry that she had crumpled it; after all, it had once been her grandmothers. But honestly, she couldn't be bothered changing it.

Once reaching the kitchen, she realised that Robin hadn't changed either.

Liliana plonked herself on the seat opposite him, dutifully ignoring him as she chose between exquisite foods. They all looked lovely, and should have tasted delicious too, if only everything Lily ate hadn't tasted like cardboard. Mournfully chewing her food, she surveyed who else was in the room. In a corner sat Lena, reapplying her purple lipstick in quantities, and the three younger victors discussed something quietly in another corner, their heads bent together.

Continuing on with her food, Liliana assumed that her parents were still asleep and that Haymitch was passed out cold on the floor somewhere.

Then the kitchen door banged open, breaking the silence like a knife, and out burst a drunken Haymitch. _Ah, _Liliana thought. _Obviously, I was wrong about the latter._ He staggered over to where Robin and I were seated, and glared down at us. Honestly, I didn't understand why. We hadn't given him any reason to hate us- yet.

"You two," he hiccupped, "are _weak."_ Liliana looked up at Haymitch. "And _you, _Haymitch, are drunk." She said. "Let's get that beer away from you, then, shall we?" Liliana reached out to grab the bottle out of his pale hands, but he was fast. He whipped away the bottle and slapped the side of her face. Lily felt her head snap sideways, and she raised a hand to her stinging cheek. A collective gasp rang out from the other victors, and Lena yelled "_Manners!", _but the only one who stood up to do anything was Robin.

He stood up, his chair scraping across the ground, and glared at Haymitch. "What was _that _for? She didn't even do anything to you!" he growled. Haymitch began to look amused. "What have we here? Standing up for your _girlfriend?_ You would think that you'd be angry enough to attack me, but-" Haymitch was cut off by our cries of "We _hate _each other!" then going red when we realised that we had said it at the same time. Haymitch smirked, but Liliana continued angrily.

"He is- _we are _mad because _you _are supposed to _help _us with surviving, _not _beat us _up!_" "Well, sweetheart, it doesn't look like I'm gonna teach you anything: I don't _teach _weaklings." He practically spat at us.

It was one of those times we couldn't help it. Considering the fact that Robin and I had hunted alongside, in a way, for a while, we had learnt each other's strong points and weaknesses. We both looked at each other and silently agreed we had to act. As I slumped down on the edge of the table in an attempt to look defeated, he pushed past Haymitch to the door conveniently behind him. Haymitch looked victorious; thank god I had my father's acting talent. The poor guy looked like he had already won.

Haymitch was fast, but we were faster.

I groped for anything sharp on the table behind me, and grinned when I felt the cold metal of meat knives. Fast as lightning, I threw one at the wall next to Robin's head, who caught it immediately, and kneed Haymitch. _Right _where it hurt.

As he fell I grabbed a second knife off the table, but it was more precaution, as Robin already had the knife poised at his back. I smirked. "Who's a weakling _now, _Haymitch?"

I guess I sort of expected him to cry in defeat or something, because what he actually did surprised me: He laughed. But not only did he laugh, he laughed like a maniac. Confused, Robin and I deposited our knives on the table. Was he really _rolling on the floor?_ Finally, he wiped a tear from the edge of his eye and looked up at us with a Cheshire grin.

"Looks like I finally got a pair of fighters."

Liliana was about to say something when she heard a noise. She turned to the window to see hundreds of people squealing at them, and she couldn't help feeling disgusted: Even though the entire countries rules were the same, even the Games hadn't really changed.

But she still felt a little excited.

They were finally at the Capitol.

**A/N: Sorry if that was a bit of a filler, but I needed a train chapter, and what better thing to do than show new characters?**

**Also, sorry for the changing of perspective a bit, I kinda lost it at one point, but I like that section as it was. Also, I am playing around with perspectives, so I might change to first person in some.**

**And regarding the fact that not _everyone _has to die, well... don't think I'm not ruthless. I WILL kill of the majority of people; as Liliana said, their motives haven't really changed.**

**And I just felt like I should update on the first day of school: might cheer some people up :)**

**QUESTIONS:**

**Which two people mentioned do you reckon were requests?**

**What were the names of the red-headed avoxes? (1 point for each)**

**Thanks,**

**Chocolate**


	7. Chapter Six: SYOT and Violet

**A/N**

**Hey guys!**

**Okay, so I know that people will probably be annoyed with me, but I probably should have done this earlier. Anyways.**

**Sorry for the last chapter being a bit of a filler; I needed to show a bit of my other characters. But what I actually want to know is if ANYONE could give me some inspiration. I have MAJOR writers block, and at the moment, I just don't feel like writing in Liliana's POV. So, I want a chance to create new characters, and thus, my SYOT section was born!**

**So, if you want to enter a character, PLEASE do! I will probably do first-in, best-dressed, so please don't hesitate! ANYWAYS, to enter a character, fill this form.**

**NAME:  
AGE:  
DISTRICT:  
LIKES:  
DISLIKES:  
LOOKS:  
PERSONALITY:  
SKILLS:  
ALLIANCE (which district, or none at all?):  
WHY DO YOU WISH TO BE IN THE GAMES?**

**Also, I am changing the points system.**

**Now, a review is worth 2 points. Answer questions right, 2 points each. If you get all three right, that's 8 points 'cause I'm nice. Favourite me or my stories: 5 points each. Alert me or my stories: that's 7.**

**If you get up to 20 points BEFORE the Games, I won't kill you in the Cornucopia melee, and I'll give you a backpack.**

**Get up to 35-45 points; you get a chapter in your name (reaping, training, basic life, Games) and I'll try to make it long. If it isn't, I'll write another **

**To pick up something in the bloodbath, you must have at least 5 points, and it MUST be specified.**

**To get things in the Games:**

**Purification vial: 5 points**

**Backpack: 15 points**

**Food (small): 10 points**

**Food (large) 15 points**

**Weapon: 15 points, unless you somehow managed to pick up one in the bloodbath, in which case I will not take your points away.**

**Water: 20 points (hey, you need to find some on your own )**

**Medicine (simple): 15 points**

**Medicine (Capitol, LIFESAVNG): 25**

**TO KILL SOMEONE, you must have at LEAST 20 points. Here are the spots left (the ones with nothing next to them)**

**CAPITOL  
GIRL: Violet Gruella, 12.  
BOY:**

**1 (Luxury Goods)  
GIRL: Avey Night, 14.  
BOY:**

**2 (Masonry and Peacekeepers)  
GIRL:  
BOY: (okay, I am going to do something special with this guy, but I have NO IDEA what to name him. Ideas? I was thinking Zeon or Leo. People who give ideas get 3 points)**

**3 (Electronics and Technology)  
GIRL: Paige Marion, 15  
BOY:**

**4 (Fishing)  
GIRL: Althea Hayes, 14  
BOY: (this kid will be in the Career pack, but again, I need a name and persona)**

**5 (Power)  
GIRL: Devi Prowess, 17  
BOY:**

**6 (Transportation)  
GIRL:  
BOY:**

**7 (Lumber)  
GIRL:  
BOY:**

**8 (Textiles)  
GIRL: Iris Willow, 16  
BOY:**

**9 (Grain)  
GIRL:  
BOY:**

**10 (Livestock)  
GIRL:  
BOY:**

**11 (Agriculture)  
GIRL: Eila Bern, 17  
BOY:**

**12 (Mining)  
GIRL: Liliana Everdeen-Mellark, 16  
BOY: Robin Vendavalla**

**13 (Nuclear technology, Graphite Mining)  
GIRL:  
BOY:**

**Okay, I know that not **_**everyone **_**has to die, but hey, I am ruthless, and I DO need some people do die in the bloodbath (THERE ARE THIRTY PEOPLE!)**

**SO far, vanelau is on 25 points and Ivy is on 2.**

**And I knew you'd be mad, so I did write a chapter. I just had to get this across first **

Violet's POV

I pulled out a heavily jewelled comb and began to brush my ivory coloured hair methodically, wincing when I reached the purple edges. I didn't want to have purple-edged hair. The Capitol children thought it looked lovely, sure, but it had been her parent's decision. Of course, they had chosen to do _that, _and name her Violet, because of her unusual eyes.

When Violet had been born, her eyes were the precise colour and shade of violet. The nurse-maid had offered surgery to change it, but her parent's brushed it off: they didn't want to change their daughter's beautiful eye colour. Of course, there had been another reason for the offered surgery: the colour of her eyes showed of their frailty. Violet couldn't see extremely well, and she was extremely short-sighted, but her parents had passed it off in order to keep their own vanity.

They enjoyed boasting of their youngest daughter's looks, though Violet herself didn't. Of course, she was not the youngest anymore; she was the only child. When she had been nine, her fourteen year old sister Diamante had been reaped. She hadn't made it very far; after all, she was a _Capitol _child. She had died in the bloodbath, clutching a silver bracelet she had found.

All Capitol tributes had died for vanity. Though they were in the Games now, the Capitol didn't help their tributes at all, so barely any knew how to fight.

Violet herself didn't either. At least, not much. She could climb like a little possum, but not trees. The Capitol had a lack of climbable trees, so she had practised on houses. She had also managed to down a pigeon once with her slingshot, but that was it.

This year, Violet was twelve. It was her first year entering the Games, and she was thankful that her family needed no tesserae: she was scared enough already. I sighed and put down my comb: the bell signifying the Reapings rang, and Violet looked once more at her bejewelled reflection, before standing and leaving for the Reapings.

Standing and watching as our escort took to the stage, fear gripped Violet's heart even more, her chest going tight, and she struggled to watch the long crimson fingers skimming the papers in the large glass bowl. She was glad to be closer up to the front, as her eyes were already in enough strain.

"Violet Gruella"

When she had a small panic attack as her name was called out, she was afraid that she would faint. Due to her short-sightedness, she didn't notice the escort's long fingers beckoning to her. She only noticed the people making a path in front of her, and began to stumble up the stage.

Why her? She was only _twelve!_ Twelve-year-olds aren't supposed to be reaped!

_I am going to die, _Violet thought.

_I am going to die, just like my sister did._

**So guys, as I said before, I feel like writing in other peoples POV's, and I decided I liked the idea of a twelve year old Capitol girl who ISN'T vain and insubstantial.**

**SO PLEASE REPLY, REVIEW, FAVOURITE AND ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS:**

**What are Prim's pets names?**

**What happened in the first Quarter Quell?**

**How was Johanna Mason tortured in the Capitol?**

**CAIO,**

**Thalia Greenlaw **


	8. Chapter Seven: Chariots!

**Hello everybody! **

**Click here to see all the outfits in the HG movie- they are hilarious!**

/2012/04/04/tributes-chariot-outfits-district1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12/

**In case you were wondering, here is my list so far:**

**CAPITOL:  
GIRL: Violet Gruella, 12  
BOY:**

**1 (Luxury Goods)  
GIRL: Avey Night, 14.  
BOY:**

**2 (Masonry and Peacekeepers)  
GIRL: Calize Robinson, 16  
BOY: Cordo Ballantynne, 17**

**3 (Electronics and Technology)  
GIRL: Paige Marion, 13  
BOY:**

**4 (Fishing)  
GIRL: Althea Hayes, 14  
BOY: (this kid will be in the Career pack, but again, I need a name and persona)**

**5 (Power)  
GIRL: Devi Prowess, 17  
BOY:**

**6 (Transportation)  
GIRL:  
BOY: Coupe Jeno, 13 (BLOODBATH)**

**7 (Lumber)  
GIRL: Hazel Marton, 15  
BOY:**

**8 (Textiles)  
GIRL: Iris Willow, 15  
BOY:**

**9 (Grain)  
GIRL: Kimberley Falls  
BOY:**

**10 (Livestock)  
GIRL: Cecile Halloway, 16  
BOY:**

**11 (Agriculture)  
GIRL: Eila Bern, 17  
BOY:**

**12 (Mining)  
GIRL: Liliana Everdeen-Mellark, 16  
BOY: Robin Vendavalla**

**13 (Nuclear technology, Graphite Mining)  
GIRL:  
BOY:**

**Don't forget I also need some Bloodbath victims **

**And I only own the girls from C, 3, 5, **

**Disclaimer: Um, are you an idiot? I DO NOT OWN **

**And I know I said Violet was an only child. Sorry. I lied. She has a little sister.**

In the Capitol, Liliana had felt angry. She had been made to walk the Capitol streets with Melody, Gretel, John, Haymitch, Lena, Robin and her parents, surrounded by Peacekeepers. All the Capitol people around them, in their gorgeous clothes and bright wigs, were fainting and screaming at all of them. Robin's walk had changed to a swagger, and he had begun blowing kisses to their audience, all of which swooned. Lily, under her parents influence, put on a mild smile, but inside, she was downright angry.

This is justice? Her parents and the rebels had fought in a _war _because of it, and it seemed nothing had changed! Her mother must have noticed her balled-up fists and gritted teeth, because she began to walk alongside her. "Lily," said Katniss, "I know this is bad, but you have to get through it."

"Mum, this isn't _justice!_ Look at what you did to change Panem, and what do we have compared to them! Nothing has changed! District 12 is practically in starvation, and the Capitol people are living in luxury, with their dyed skin and _pets!_ " This part was true: A tall lady with a bright yellow wig and pink skin was holding a tiny dog the colour of ripe tangerines. "Lily!" Katniss snapped. "Don't talk like that in the Capitol! They'll punish you!" Cold anger inflated Lily's chest.

"Mum," she said, deadly quiet, "Are you saying that you've _given up? _After all you fought for, you stopped?" Katniss' face twisted into a grimace. "Liliana Everdeen-Mellark! Your father and I have never given up, in fact, we are still fighting: We have been ever since President Lucien took over." President Lucien had succeeded Paylor from 8: They had quickly found that the Capitol Presidents had actually been _trained_, and Paylor resigned for the pressure.

"Lily, whatever you think is bad now, it was much worse then. When I was your age, we ate dogs, and had no pets. We were beaten, and only _one _person left the Games. If you think it hasn't changed, think of that. It may not have changed much, but it's a start."

Her mother looked down at her tenderly, and Liliana was about to say something when something happened. A tiny girl, no older than five, with a purple cast over a broken arm, ducked underneath the Peacekeepers and smiled sheepishly up at her. The Peacekeepers immediately turned around, but Katniss warded them off with a gesture.

"Hi!" said the girl breathlessly. Liliana smiled down at her tenderly. "Hello. My name is Liliana. What's yours?" The little girl looked slightly shocked at being directly spoken at, and nervously said "Ivy." Liliana smiled and bent her knees, so as to see the girls round face more clearly. "Ivy. What a pretty name." She pointed to the girl's bandaged arm, on which there were three signatures. "What happened to your arm?"

Ivy looked around nervously, and then beckoned Lily closer as if the matter was confidential. When she was close enough, she whispered in her ear, her hot breath tickling Liliana's cheek. "I felled." She said sadly. "My big sister was teaching me how to climb, and I lost grip. I hung on a bit, but my fingers hurted, and I saw a soft looking bush and so I dropped, but the bush wasn't so soft 'cause I broked my arm." Liliana looked, shocked, into the little girls bright blue eyes.

"I'm sure the doctors could fix that up in no time. Why haven't they?" "I'm too little, they said, which is wrong, 'cause I turned five, and I'm a big girl! But I don't mind. When my big sister comes back, she's gonna teach me to climb trees!" Liliana smiled; Ivy reminded her of herself. Strong, persistent and brave.

"Only she might not come back. My other sister didn't." Then it clicked. The blonde hair, bright eyes, colour name and the fact that her sister was gone. "Is your sister Violet? The one in the Games?" Ivy nodded sadly. She was quiet for a moment, which was when she began hearing cries coming from the crowd. "Ivy! Ivy!" The voice was distressed, and Lily saw a worried woman pushing her way through the crowd. "That's my mummy. I should go." Ivy turned to leave, but Liliana held her non-broken arm. She swiftly whipped out a pen and wrote her signature in spidery writing on her cast, then whispered, "I'll keep your sister safe, don't worry."

Liliana stood up to her full height and smiled down at the girls hopeful face, watching as her mother burst through the crowd and clutched the girl in her arms. She looked up at Lily, shocked, and said thank you. Liliana smiled in return at the Peacekeepers began to usher them away once more.

oOoOoOo

Liliana sat on the plush couch, her mother next to her, braiding her hair elaborately.

They were in the penthouse, in the building the tributes have to stay in for their time in the Capitol. Every corner of the room was painted a bright colour, with state-of-the-art technology and posh decorations and furniture everywhere. You couldn't look anywhere without almost being blinded from colour.

She had spent almost an hour in her bedroom alone, trying to find clothes that weren't bright and frilly, and then playing with all of the buttons in the shower just to see what they could do. Finally she had perched on the edge of the couch in the television room in a cream top and silk camo pants. Not that this was the only television room; every room had some sort of TV. The room was so big that everyone was in it, doing their own thing, except for Haymitch.

Then Haymitch waltzed in. Speak of the devil. "Hey, sweetheart, seen the TV?" I shook my head, disgusted. "Why, Haymitch? There wouldn't be anything of interest on." Lena squealed, her silver, straight wig bobbing up and down. "Why, dear, didn't you know? You're on it!" I immediately jumped up, startling my mother, and snatched the large remote off a nearby lime-green coffee table, and turned the television on.

We all crowded around to see a short clip of me and little Ivy, caught when I signed her cast and her mother wrapped her in her arms. The title for the report was 'Everdeen-Mellark tribute saves five-year-old". I snarled and immediately switched off the television. Robin too looked mad; probably because I had more publicity than him.

"Look at that, sweetheart. First, they found out you were famous people's daughter. Then, you went and volunteered for a girl you weren't related too. Now they caught you being nice to a little girl, and soon enough, you'll be saving kittens!"

Liliana huffed and looked around the room. Lena was excited, Gretel and John resigned, Katniss concerned, and Melody thoughtful, but it was Peeta who spoke up. "Lily, this could be good. You could do nice things, which would make the Capitol like you more!" "But dad, I don't want to be made out as something I'm not! It could backfire!"

"But you are." came a soft voice from the back of the room. Robin looked up defensively from a book he was reading. "What? It's true, you know it." Melody stood up, her blond hair swishing. "Liliana, why don't you think about it? You don't have to, but you certainly do need a strategy." Liliana sighed and stood up. "Fine, I will but-" her voice was cut off as a distinct bell rang, and Gretel grinned, her white teeth leaping out against her tanned skin.

"Time to meet your stylists."

oOoOoOo

Liliana lay on her bed. She felt raw. Her entire body had been plucked, moisturised, covered in green goo and rinsed by three Capitol stylists, all staring down at her with grins wide on their faces. It had been evident from the beginning that they had been excited to have her, and they kept asking her questions about how it felt to be here, and what her parents were like. She had been drowned in questions until her stylist, a woman with styled ginger hair, had sent them away.

She was very young, so Lily could only assume that it was her first year here and they stuck her immediately with 12.

"Liliana," she said simply, "you are brave, and I am so sorry that you are in this mess." Liliana was shocked, and it must have been evident in her face, because she continued speaking. "My name is Kendra, and I will be your stylist, and as a designer, I want to show your bravery in your clothes." She tipped her head sideways, smiling Cheshire-like, and Liliana got the impression that she was either incredibly talented or mad. She just hoped she wouldn't have to wear a horrific outfit: last year, their stylist had been sacked because she had made the completely naked but for black paint.

"But I also want to show your similarity to your mother, and help you stand out….."

oOoOoOo

Liliana and Robin stood in a coal black chariot, glancing around the room at her opponents. It was already evident who would be a threat to her survival. Her eyes landed on the two people from district 2.

They were both dressed in a similar fabric; a grey that continuously changed shades in the light, making it look like stone. The girl, whom Liliana recognised as Calize Robinson, wore it in a long, flowing style, and both tributes wore silver gladiator-style helmets and shoes. The girl had gorgeous wavy strawberry-blond hair and amber eyes, but wore a fierce expression as she glared at the male tribute, Cordo Ballantynne. He reached out to grab her hand, but she immediately yanked it away, leaving him with a very angry expression.

It was obvious that she was refusing to do something, and the two were arguing. Then Cordo reached forward and gripped her wrist, yanking her towards him and whispering something in her ear then grinning menacingly. The last thing I saw of her was her shocked amber eyes, and then a very loud voice screamed in my ear.

I yelped and turned to see a round-faced girl with blondish-brown hair and sea-coloured eyes, and recognised her immediately. Her name was Althea Hayes, from district 4, and looking at her outfit I couldn't help feeling envious. It was long, flowing and the precise aqua of the ocean, with white ruffles at the bottom to suggest sea-foam. Her short hair was decorated with pearls, and had a starfish clip on one side. She grinned at me before scurrying away to her chariot, which was blue with white horses, and covered in pearls and shells.

Liliana knew Althea Hayes though Finn Odair. Althea's family was quite botchy: They had married and had a child when they were really young, then remarried later on, so Althea's half-sister Lucy is more than a year older than she is. Lucy Hayes is married to Finn Odair, which Liliana is glad for- Annie Cresta, Finn's mum, was always half-mad, and she had had trouble taking care of a child in that state, and died mysteriously when he was five.

Liliana had a feeling that Althea mightn't survive: The girl was brave, but she was very sweet. She could swim and use tridents and nets, but Liliana doubted she had never killed so much as a fish with them.

But then the bells rang again, and one by one the chariots began to depart.

oOoOoOo

Violet Gruella stood in the Capitol chariot. Considering the Capitol had no real speciality, she simply wore 'Capitol Couture'. Her hair had been completely dyed purple, and she wore a big, hot pink flower clip in her hair. She also had a dress shading from pink to violet, and a hot pink cardigan. She had a feeling these clothes had been made smaller, and she knew why. They had made her look the same as her sister had in the chariots.

Avey Night stood in the District One chariot, grinning and waving in an attempt to ignore the weight of her dress. Her dark hair was curled elaborately, with silver glitter sprayed onto it, and she had on a large ballroom-style dress the colour of pure silver, encrusted with multi-colour diamonds all over. She had to keep her composure, but the dress was incredibly heavy, so she had to steady herself with a hand on the silver chariot, listening to the Capitol roar in approval. She only hoped her parents had been alive to see this.

Meanwhile, Calize Robinson in the District 2 chariot was shaking from the threat she had been given by Cordo. This was the reason she hated boys, she thought as she stood stoic in her chariot. She was glad for the lightness of her dress: In fact, her head was the thing that felt heavy. The helmet she was wearing was pure silver, and was squashing her messy hair. She sent a sidelong glance at Cordo, who seemed completely unaffected by anything, as per usual.

Cordo Ballantynne was actually thinking of his possible alliances; the girl from one was weak, but she sure could talk. Honestly, he wanted the boy from four as a career; at least he wasn't a total wimp. He scowled up at the screaming crowds from the grey chariot, and wished he had a sword handy. He would show them.

Paige Marion held onto a cog on the District 3 chariot for dear life. Her curly dark hair felt stiff: it had been threaded with wires, and then had a golden wire crown with a cog in the middle placed on her head. Her long black dress was covered in swirling patterns of wire, with a belt of gold cogs around the middle, and to her fourteen-year-old body it felt quite heavy. She didn't even understand why she was here- she had been going over the laws of aerodynamics in her head when she was reaped. She honestly thought that the only she would survive would be if her brains could save her.

Althea Hayes stood tall in the district four chariot, feeling her short hair whip in the wind, and twisted her pearl bracelet, thinking about the fact that she had put her half-sisters wedding on hold until she came back. IF she came back. She just couldn't imagine having to kill people to get there.

Devi Prowess in the District Five chariot thought she looked ridiculous. Why on earth had she been made to wear what looked like a dress made of batteries? It was incredibly heavy, and they glowed green, which made her fear that they were radioactive. She also wore a headdress of glowing green plastic and similar shoes. She had a feeling that her stylist was either obsessed with glowing things, or on morphling.

Small little Coupe Jeno wobbled excessively in the District Six chariot. He wore a train conductor outfit, but considering he was in the Capitol, it was coloured neon orange and purple. Coupe was only small, and had an older brother who was 16. He had been so confident that he would volunteer, but he had just left the thirteen-year-old alone, and hadn't even visited him to say goodbye. So in the train-based chariot, Coupe felt unwanted.

The people from District 7 went by in a wooden chariot, and for once they weren't dressed as trees. Instead, Hazel Marton wore a dress that made her look like a tree nymph, green and cut spiky at the bottom, with brown and green makeup, and her hair dead straight and entwined with vines. She grinned and waved at the crowds, her dark eyes with green shadow on. She waved bravely up at the crowds- she didn't care if she fell, at least she would make a statement.

Iris Willow in the District 8 chariot did _not _enjoy her dress: it was long and a patchwork of fabrics, something her sisters would have had fun making. She sighed. Her _sisters._ She had so many, as well as brothers, and she loved them all so badly, and just wanted to get home. She twirled her dead-straight brown hair as she waved to the crowd, hoping her family would see.

The tributes from Nine seemed uncomfortable in their costumes; they wore gold clothes and held hoes *Don't laugh: That is a real object that you use to reap grain*. Honestly, they doubted they stood out, with their gold grain-woven body suits and black belts. And they were right; they didn't exactly make an impression.

Cecile Halloway stood straight upright in the District 10 chariot, but inside, she was boiling. She wore a leather dress with a zip up the middle, and an ermine-fur muff and boots. She honestly didn't mind too much about the gold rams horns protruding from her brown bob of hair- but seriously, she bet the Capitol had killed the entire animals just for the ermine fur and rams horns, then threw them away later, which made her feel sad. She liked animals. All she cared about was getting out alive, and showing people that 10 weren't all cowards. Starting with the Careers.

Eila Bern huffed from the District 11 chariot. They had made her wear bright, happy yellow coloured farmers overalls: the bottom being a skirt instead of pants. At least there weren't any frills or puffiness; she would brain them if they had made her wear that. But she guessed that they had given her bright colours, along with a golden wheat circlet, to go against her naturally dark hair and skin. She stood tall and stared ahead. She would kill them later.

It was when 12 came out, however, when the uproar really started.

Liliana and Robin both gripped each other's hands, grinning at the crowd, who was going wild at their outfits. Liliana wore a coal-black dress with material that made it look like they were glowing embers, and towards the bottom strips of every shade of red, orange, yellow and even blue were attached, so in the wind they trailed behind her with the effect of fire. Her hair was loose, with red, yellow and red ribbons in her hair. Robin didn't need anything in his hair, however; the stylists had simply sprayed it with hairspray, and it stood out, bright ginger, giving the effect that his head was on fire.  
The two gripped onto the chariots for dear life as held up their joined hands; the Capitol would not like them if they hated each other completely, and they would kill each other later.

District 13 came after, wearing glowing green jumpsuits and holding picks for graphite mining, but nobody really payed enough attention to them; they were all enraptured by District 12.

They finally stopped and watched the President, a tall thin man with white-blond hair, read the treaty of treason.

Re-entering the chariot area, the two saw the majority of tributes glaring at them- they had stolen their chance in the limelight. Althea, however, was grinning and waving, and Liliana saw little Violet from the Capitol smiling shyly at her, and she smiled back.

Moments later, stylists had rushed up to them and were twittering over their outfits, and boasting of their own, but Peeta and Katniss shooed them away as Robin and Lily walked stiffly off of their chariot. Liliana's body felt like lead- they had just ridden through icy wind, and she was wearing ridiculous heels. The only part of her body that was warm was her left hand. Liliana looked down to see why this was, and realised that she was still clutching Robin's hand.

He must have realised too, because both of them coughed and looked away, blushing as they disentangled their hands.

**Sorry if you don't like your clothes- I honestly found some of them really hard. **

**So now you can vote for your favourite characters and save up points to get them stuff in the arena! Of course, being the writer, I can send anyone anything 3:) HERE IS THE LIST:**

**Purification vial: 5 points**

**Backpack: 15 points**

**Food (small): 10 points**

**Food (large) 15 points**

**Weapon: 15 points, unless you somehow managed to pick up one in the bloodbath, in which case I will not take your points away.**

**Water: 20 points (hey, you need to find some on your own )**

**Medicine (simple): 15 points**

**Medicine (Capitol, LIFESAVNG): 25**

**If I've forgotten anything, just PM me. I will be changing the prices eventually, and I need more people to control the fates of!**

**QUESTIONS:**

**What is the meaning of Rue, Thresh?**

**What does SPQR stand for?**

**From,**

**Your head gamemaker **


	9. Chapter Eight: Training

**Hey Guys!**

**So in this story, if nobody else wants to randomly create characters, I'll go all Suzanne-Collins and not know their names until they're dead. If you want, I still need the boys from C, 1,3,5,7,8,9,10,11, 13 and the girl from 6.**

**And yes, I will kill of characters. Don't hate me if I do, because it both needs to happen, and really it's only fictional. That's why I'm making you like them ;)**

**Also, unless I get at the very least 10 reviews, I'm not posting the next chapter any time soon. And yes, I know I have a different page break. Fanfiction doesn't seem to like the way I do it.**

**Disclaimer: Jeez, I wish**

_**Guys, I want you to know before I go to Voldermort, that I love all of you. Except for you, Draco. I can't f*cking stand you~ Harry Potter, A Very Potter Musical.**_

Both tributes from twelve were exceptionally grumpy the next morning. Liliana had woken up in her comfy bed to find that she had forgotten to remove her dark makeup, and despite pressing all of the buttons in the shower and scrubbing as hard as possible, she left her room looking like a raccoon.

And for as long as she searched, the least posh outfit she had found had been a puffy yellow skirt and a mauve blouse. _Great,_ she thought, _a fashionable raccoon._ Tiredly, she dragged out a heavily cushioned chair at the dining table and collapsed on it, the table being laden with food. Robin already sat in front of her, moping.

Mournfully, Liliana inspected the layout, her eyes staring so long that they glazed over. Curse the Capitol, the table had enough food to feed her family for years! Finally, she selected the things closest to what she ate last at home- lamb stew with dried cranberries and a piece of fresh bread. She picked up her silverware, (which would've costed thousands in 12), and began to eat methodically.

Blearily, Robin looked up at her as if realising that she was there for the first time. Liliana smirked when she saw he still had glitter and hairspray in his tousled red hair. He blinked a few times, before scowling and nodding towards the salt. "Pass the salt."

Neither teen was in a very good mood; Liliana was annoyed with the Capitol for their treatment to the Districts, and Robin was moping from lack of limelight. It was no surprise when Liliana snarled and said simply, "No."

Robin blinked a few more times in shock, then sighed. "Come on Everdeen-Mellark, it's not that bad. It's _right _next to you!" Lily looked at the crystalline salt shaker beside her, then turned back to Robin. "No, you can get it yourself. I'm not your slave." "Just give it to him, sweetheart."

Neither teen turned to see a hung-over Haymitch collapsed on a faux-fur couch- It seemed he was being swallowed up by a giant orange dog, so it was no surprise that neither Robin nor Liliana had noticed him. He swore under his breath as he struggled to stand up. "Liliana, just _do it._" He said harshly. Without breaking eye contact, Liliana reached out to grab the shaker. She brought it around to in front of him, and not realising its frailty, slammed it down on the table.

The shaker smashed and all of the salt inside it pooled onto the table. Shocked, the teens leapt from the table as glass shards flew at them. The table shuddered, and out of their rooms ran the other victors. Lena Silver, however, ran out first and cried out. "Oh my! How dare you damage Capitol property!" she cried in indignation. Shocked, Lily spluttered a response. She hadn't meant to break it!

Melody came forward and placed a soothing hand on Lena's shoulder. "Lena, I'm sure she didn't mean it. They are tired, you of all people should know." "Yes, but she the two need punishment." This came from Katniss, a hard look in her eyes. Peeta stood next to her, his arm around her waist, looking slightly bemused. "You two fight way too much, and if you want sponsors you'll have to at least _pretend_ to like each-other. So during the training, you two will have to stay together."

"But-" Lily spluttered. "No buts, Lily. This is for your own good." Lily scowled, and brushed past Lena, who had her hair in rollers.

"Let me get changed first."

**PAGE BREAK**

Paige Marion wandered around the large training room, trying to find what to do next. She had already swum in the pool that the Capitol had added, so that she wouldn't be completely useless in that environment. Her long dark her was drying slightly fuzzy already. She had also done pretty well in the camouflage, because her arm was now perfectly painted as a tree.

Paige scanned the stations to see who was where, so she could practice peacefully. She saw the boy from two hacking at things with a sword, the blonde girl from 4 had taken over the pool.

Paige was only thirteen years old. When she had been reaped, she was just in shock, gaping at the crowd until the Peacekeepers had the sense to push her up. She had been scared as well; she lived in an orphanage, because her parents had died when she was little, so she hadn't been made to take tesserae, and only had two slips in.

Paige was very quiet, and generally read a lot, so she didn't have many friends. She was also small, so she guessed she wasn't suited to fight with heavy objects, and she couldn't do acrobatics for one small reason- she wore glasses. Big, round red glasses. Before going to the orphanage, she had worn contacts, but they then decided that they costed too much and replaced them. Paige wasn't exactly blind without them, but she was quite short-sighted.

Finally, her eyes zeroed in on the archery section. Unlike other weapons, she could understand how the objects worked on their own, and being from district 3, knowing how things worked was important to her.

There was only one person at that station, and it was the girl from district 12. She had finally separated with the boy from her district after a spat over whether swimming was important, and he had stormed off towards the swords section. Liliana was currently shooting steadily at the targets from different positions, from the floor to the ceiling, and always getting it right smack bang in the middle.

Timidly, Paige scuttled across the polished floor and picked up the remaining bow. She quickly notched her arrow, watching the girl very carefully, and shot at the target. To her surprise, she managed to shoot the arrow in the outer ring. She frowned. Good, but not good enough.

Shooting a few more arrows, she got closer to the middle each time, but never in the middle. After her fifth shot, she noticed Liliana peeking at her with her blue eyes, and Paige looked down and blushed, running a hand through her silky hair. Liliana smiled and sidled over to Paige. "Paige from three, right? Not bad for a starter. Get into stance." Paige hurriedly lifted the bow in shooting position.

Liliana studied her and then softly stated, "Don't overextend your arm that much; women have a tendency to do that. Bring your arm in a little more, and aim lower. That's it. Now shoot." Swiftly, Paige shot, and turned to grin at Liliana when she shot it right in the middle of the target. Liliana smiled back at her and went back to practising her shots.

**PAGE BREAK**

Liliana smiled back at the thirteen-year-old, who was obviously pleased. Liliana was too; she had just taught a hazel-eyed nerd-like girl from 3 how to use a weapon. She had never thought herself a teacher. Liliana continued to shoot, but felt it beginning to become boring. She had already finished the entire natural station selection well, and half her face was dedicated to the paint station, and she didn't want to go to the other weapon stations: Calize from two was hitting every knife-throwing target, Cordo was hacking at a dummy with an axe, and Robin was beating all of the assistants in the sword area.

That was when a scuffle broke out.

**PAGE BREAK**

Cordo had enjoyed hacking at dummies: The assistants had gotten afraid of him after he had almost choked on during the wrestling session. He had spent a while not even paying attention to what he was doing, and just watching the other tributes. A girl from district ten stood next to him, swiftly slicing each dummy into pieces, and still looked smug from when he had asked her to join the Careers. Not that Cordo would let her survive- he would kill her by the time it was final eight.

He had considered inviting the people from 12. The boy had so far beaten everyone he had gone against with most weapons, and the girl….. He was stuck on the girl. She was brilliant in most of the areas, and by far the best when it came to camouflage and archery, but her _parents, _they were famous. So famous, in fact, that it would foil his plan of bumping of the non-careers when it came to final eight.

After all, if he killed her, they would stop liking him, and would no longer give him sponsorship. The Capitol tended to like people who were famous. If he could get 12 on his side, then that meant more sponsors. But that could be impossible, and what if both denied?

So, to take out his anger, he decided to do what he was best at.

Bully runts.

**PAGE BREAK**

Liliana watched as Cordo swaggered towards little Coupe Jeno from district 6 and began to push him around. The poor kid was only small, and didn't fight back, just cowered from the rest of the Careers as they jeered at him. Liliana was about to step forward when something amazing happened.

Violet walked forward and pushed the small boy behind her. Liliana walked forward curiously, with the small girl from three walking behind her, her head cocked in thought. "-what do you want, Capitol. You know you're going to die first anyways- doing this won't save him-" "Well, at least I have a _heart, _two." Violet snarled back at him.

The assistants only began to notice the scuffle when Cordo raised his fist. They weren't afraid, as they had obviously done this before, but they weren't fast enough: Lily could tell just by watching them come down from the balcony where the Gamemakers watched. Liliana got mad- how dare he insult twelve-year-olds? She just couldn't bear it that all she could do was watch Violet's indignant face all but pressed up to Cordo's anger-twisted one…

Just before he brought his fist down, a dull thud came from between the two peoples faces. Violet stepped back, staring at the arrow that had cut the air in between the two's faces and thudded in the wall behind them, and traced it back to where Liliana stood, the string on her bow twanging, and smiled nervously at her. Lily tried to smile back, but she wasn't done. She strode forward, discarding the bow, and raised her hand, her teeth gritted.

She growled at him, then felt somebody restraining her from behind. Whipping around, she saw Robin gripping her arms. She was so close to attacking him for touching her when Cordo began to speak.

"Nice, 12. I've actually been waiting for you to prove whether you were weak or not." He smirked, all anger leaving him, and he nodded at Robin. "You too, 12. So, turns out you two _are _strong, and I'm sure that you value your lives. So, fancy joining the _Careers_? You would do much better than this lot." Immediately, Robin nodded. "Sure, why not."

Liliana decided that she knew why he was asking this. "Let me guess…" she drawled in an attempt of imitating her father. "You guys want to win, correct?" Cordo nodded conspirationally. Idiot, that was rhetorical. The prize is your life, why would you want to lose? "So, if you have _me _on your team, you think that you'll get more sponsors? What if I _wasn't _famous? Would you still accept me then?" The boy looked confused, and Liliana had the feeling that she would have to dumb it down for him.

She snorted. "My answers no, genius. I don't like being used, and I would prefer to take my chances on my own." At his mutinous look, Liliana feared she had said the wrong thing. The veins in his forehead pulsed, and he stepped forward. Before he could do anything more, the girl from district one, Avey Night, put a hand on his shoulder. "Not now, Cordo. You'll have plenty of times in the Games, and more, you'll be able to kill her _accordingly_!" She chided. When he nodded, she gave Liliana a look that so obviously said _you owe me one._

Just as Liliana thought it was over, Cordo grabbed her arm and dragged her over to him. Liliana heard a yelp from Robin. Cordo leant over until his mouth was at her ear, and whispered seductively, "12, just for that, I'm killing you and your little friends first. You could've been saved- I wouldn't have killed you, but now I don't doubt I will. And I'm going to torture your little _boyfriend _and Capitol friend first." He pulled away from her and grinned menacingly, and Liliana kept her look as stony as possible. As he stomped away with the rest of the Careers behind him, Liliana turned back to the gaggling crowd, wondering why no Peacekeepers came to help.

Little Paige and Violet were looking at her admiringly, and she smiled back down at them, feeling a pang as remembered little Bryony. However, before she got a chance to talk to them or any other people, Robin grabbed her elbow and dragged her off to a corner.

He looked mad and _concerned, _as if she had just put herself up for a living sacrifice, and she was confused. Why would he be _concerned, _as if she was his sister? "Lily, what are you trying to do, get yourself _killed?_" "Why would you care, of all people, Robin?" Liliana said, taken aback that he had had the nerve to call her by her nickname. Robin sighed and ran a hand through his hair, then gave Liliana a pained look. "Liliana, can't you see? I can't let you die. My sister loves you; she would kill me if I let you get hurt. If you had just joined the Career's, you might at least survive."

He looked back at Liliana pleadingly, and she took a step back. "Robin, they would have killed me anyway, and they would have- _will _do the same to you anyways." She turned around and flounced off.

"We're going to die anyway. Stop lying to yourself."

**So, yeah, I had to put in a training chapter, and hopefully this was alright.**

**I will be putting different people's POV's in every chapter, and hopefully you enjoyed Cordo and Paige's. Cordo was actually based of and created by my bestie Cato4Ever, and hopefully I did him justice in this. Doing evil people is more her forte.**

**Speaking of characters based off of people, to those who liked Althea, she was based off and created by Ceaser-Flickerman, and Paige was based slightly off me. No, stop thinking I wear glasses, have dead parents and live in an orphanage. Just slightly her personality, but she is a whole lot more nerdy.**

**Love you all and am hoping to get reviews,**

**ThatRandomWriterWho'sNameEscapesMeCurrently **


	10. Chapter Nine: Meddling

**Okay, I know, it's been a while, but I haven't had the chance to write! Also, sorry if it is a little short, but it is a crucial chapter!**

**Does Robin remind anyone else of Ron? Just a question… **

**Also, go check out my other, more commonly updated story, **_**Your Worst Fears.**_

**I guess I don't really need an author note at the top, so here's the story!**

**Disclaimer: Disclaimed. **

_**Leave all your love and you're longing behind, can't carry it with you if you want to survive- Dog Days, **_**Florence and the Machine**

Liliana lay in her bed, staring at the ceiling. Another day of training had passed, and now there was only one more until the training sessions and interviews, leaving the next day for the terror to begin. She sighed forlornly and climbed out of her bed, padding across the carpeted floor. Stumbling to the bathroom, Lily braced herself on the sink and stared at herself in the mirror.

Her blue eyes were filled with worry and ringed with purple- she hadn't gotten a lot of sleep that night, dwelling on strategies for the Games. Her normally silky dark hair was lank and greasy. Grimacing, Liliana hopped into the shower and washed herself roughly, trying to make the exhaustion trickle away along with the water.

Pressing the small button down to cease the flow of water, she grabbed a towel and wrapped it around herself, leaving her hair to dry on its own, and began to search for some suitable clothes. After literally tearing the draws apart, she found a pair of silky grey cameo pants and a white frilly shirt.

Wandering into the kitchen, she found that she was the last to wake up. Disgruntled, she collapsed at the table and began to pile her plate with food, failing to notice they were deep in discussion until they had stopped talking and turned to look at her. Katniss cleared her throat, and Liliana hastily swallowed her mouthful to look expectantly in her direction. "Liliana," She started, hesitating for a minute. Looking around the table, Lily noticed that the other mentors looked slightly anxious, except for a bored Gretel.

Confused, Liliana prompted her mother to continue. "There is only one way we can get you sponsors for sure, Lily, and that is to….." Her mother trailed off anxiously, looking pleadingly up at Liliana. She didn't need any further explanation- she knew what her parents and the others wanted to do. Helplessly, she looked at Robin, who was notoriously refusing to meet her gaze. Furious, she pushed her chair back and stood upright.

"I can't believe you want me to do that! We barely remotely like each other!" She seethed. Katniss tossed away her concerned look for a stern one. "Liliana, we are doing this for your own good. We don't like it either, but it's the only way for you to get sponsors and come home alive." Liliana growled and chucked the napkin to the table and spun around to her room.

"At least have some breakfast, Lily, you need your strength." Said Katniss softly. Slamming the door behind her, Liliana muttered, "I've lost my appetite.

Banging her head against the door, Lily cried out in anger. How could her parents even consider her having to do this? She hated Robin, and didn't want to have to pretend to be in love with him! Collapsing on her bed, she stared at the wall above her. She frowned- something was sticking into her back. Tugging it out from beneath her, she found a small remote. Curious, she pointed at a random wall and pressed a large red button placed at the top.

A funny grinding noise came from the wall behind her, and, spinning around, she saw a landscape being projected onto the wall. On it, she saw workers wandering around a square, and faintly in the background, a number. In fact, the number 13. District 13! She saw the graphite mining outfits more clearly now, and wondered what would happen if she pressed the down-facing arrow button.

The next image she saw was familiar. It was the District 12 square, and standing in the middle were several familiar faces. The entire group that Robin and she had taken hunting two years prior, both of their siblings, and Liliana's friend Linden surrounded a large canvas. Seeing them alone made her sad, but then they began to lift up the canvas. On it there were the words 'Robin and Liliana, we miss you, please come home' and underneath was signed by everybody in the town, including their old retired cat Buttercup.

Liliana leant forward on her bed to soak in the faces of the people she thought she would never see again.

**CHANGE**

Uncertain about Liliana's response, Robin continued to attack his own food with relish. He knew already that that would be her answer, and to be honest, felt it would affect her more than he. Already, she had set the other tributes straight that she would not accept an alliance because of her parents fame, which Robin thought was a terrible idea- she'd gotten an offer from the _careers, _had she accepted she would keep her breath for at least a week.

Robin continued to eat, failing to notice the adults staring at him. John cleared his throat, and Robin's head snapped up to see them staring at him expectantly. Swallowing the food in his mouth and grimacing, he wiped his face with a napkin. "What is it?" He inquired. Peeta jerked his head in the direction of Liliana's room. "Go speak to her for us, Robin."

Robin shook his head. "I'm not her parents, you are. She doesn't even like me, and frankly, I feel the same way. Why don't you go?" The adults, however, made no move to go, so he dropped his napkin on the table and began to move to her door dejectedly. Creaking open the door, he peered inside, seeing her dark head gazing at something out of view. Cracking the door open little more, he began to creep inside, freezing when his eyes fell on what she was looking at.

The far wall had an illusion on it to make it seem as though it were a window open directly to District 12's square. Liliana sat staring fixatedly, her eyes beginning to glisten. Sighing, he went to sit down next to her, walking with less heavy-footing. At first, he stared around the walls, taking in the metallic gold they had obviously painted the rooms once they realised their own Mockingjay's daughter would be coming, while playing with his hands. Clearing his throat, he began to speak.

"Lily-" She flinched at the use of her nickname, but he ploughed on, stumbling through his words. "-I know you don't want to do this, but it's the only way. Don't do this for yourself, do this for them." He jerked his head at the projection, and when she continued to gaze wordlessly, he sighed and continued.

"If I was to come back without you, both Finnick and Briony would hate me, and I'm pretty sure I would hate myself for it. I don't want to hurt them, they love you, and they look up to both of us. If only one comes back, they'll hate that we couldn't save the other. I don't want them broken like that. I-" he broke off. For part of the phrase, he had stared Liliana straight in her bright eyes, but now his gaze dropped back to his hands.

"That hasn't stopped you before, has it? It never stopped you from bullying me all those times, did it?" He opened his mouth, staring shocked into her angry face. "No, don't talk." She said crisply. "All those times you and your friends bullied me, made fun of me, what about then? You didn't seem to care then! And now you're saying you do? That's hypocritical!" her voice rose to a shout, and he stood up. "Come on, Liliana! Don't be so stubborn!" "Me, stubborn!" she roared, pushing herself to her feet. "Call me that, but in the Games, I will never, EVER, pretend to be in love with _you_!" Her voice changed to a deadly quiet whisper. "And I swear, if you mention so much as a single word about love, I will kill you."

He scowled, pushing out of the room. He couldn't believe he had thought, even for a minute, that he'd be able to get through to her. Now the only way for her to live was using her own skills, and with Cordo after her, he doubted it would be enough.

**CHANGE**

Peeta came to sit beside Katniss, putting a large hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him, shaking her head. "I can't believe she could be so stubborn." She muttered, throwing up her hands. Peeta laughed. "Well, Katniss, you weren't exactly the happiest when I told Panem that." Katniss looked up, her grey eyes crinkled with smile lines. "Again-sorry about that." Slowly, her face fell, and she stared at the floor. She spoke in a whisper. "Peeta, I can't believe it. After all these years, I didn't think it would happen. That's why I didn't want kids- I just didn't want them to get hurt. And now she's in the Games, and I am not entirely sure if she'll survive…" She trailed off. Peeta smiled reassuringly.

"Katniss, she's got your survival skills. Thank god she doesn't have mine, she'd be dead in minutes. She'll survive." Suddenly the door to Liliana's room slammed shut and a mutinous Robin pushed his way through the hall, slamming his own door as he entered his room. Leaning over to Katniss, Peeta whispered in her ear. "Why exactly did you send him in? We both know I would've done better." Katniss tapped her nose and laughed.

"Really, I'm not _that _oblivious to people's feelings!"

**OK guys, kind of a short chapter, but I have a lot in store! R&R guys!**

**~ Smudgeee**


	11. Authors Note

**Hey guys! So, I have one thing to say: I AM INCREDIBLY SORRY!**

**I have been working on the chapter that needs to be posted here for forever, and I was gonna post it when BAM- my USB (with all my documents on it) stopped working! I had no time to fix it because I was on a holiday, and didn't have my computer, and I am incredibly sorry!**

**I'm taking it to get fixed soon, I was just busy because school is starting soon, and I feel really bad. I honestly feel like I've failed you guys! SO as soon as it's fixed, I'll upload as soon as possible! **

**Thanks to all who've supported me during this time, and I know you guys always wait for a while, but I really am sorry! So I'll get it fixed and post, love you all!**

**INCREDIBLY SORRY, **

**Smudge xxx**


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